Tom Bridges put the sign up outside the home he had shared with his wife, Vicki, for nearly 20 years. Monday's tornado destroyed the couple's home and ruined most of their possessions.

Tom Bridges' house was destroyed in Moore on Monday, May 20. He put a sign up that said "Rummage sale-cheap" to get 'A laugh out of all this mess. We need that," the Army veteran, 68, said. The sign drew attention from passers-by.

On Thursday, the Army veteran picked through the rubble, looking for some of his wife's jewelry.

She was in Tulsa when the EF5 twister hit. It leveled the Bridges' home at 312 Stoneridge Drive and the homes of neighbors in the Hunter's Glen addition.

The sign drew the attention of an independent filmmaker, who stood in front of the Bridges' home interviewing those in the area. An out-of-state couple — in the neighborhood to help out — took a few pictures of it and stopped to chat with Bridges.

In front of the rubble, Bridges, 68, had organized some salvageable belongings — a few chairs, a nice blue cooking pot. The sign, those things, led some to ask:

Was the sign for real?

No, he said. The sign's a joke.

Rescue workers dug through rubble Monday to pull Bridges out of his collapsed home. An inner hallway is all that remained. He rode out the twister in the storm cellar.

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by Juliana Keeping

Enterprise Reporter

Juliana Keeping is on the enterprise reporting team for The Oklahoman and NewsOK.com.
Keeping joined the staff of The Oklahoman in 2012. Prior to that time, she worked in the Chicago media at the SouthtownStar, winning a Peter Lisagor Award...